JAMIE BENSON’S MOTHER, Carole, tried not to let her feelings be known when the option of a move to Ireland popped up for her son.

Benson was tipping along nicely with Harlequins and had already been in an England A squad when the offer popped up from Ulster.

Carole Collins grew up in Belfast before moving to England and meeting Martin Benson, so the approach from Irish rugby was particularly intriguing. 

As he weighed up his decision, Jamie was keen not to let his mother’s background influence him too much.

“I kind of dripped her the information slowly, and she was very careful to not try and persuade me towards doing it because of her family connections,” says 24-year-old Benson, who is now part of the Ireland squad for the upcoming Nations Championship campaign.

“Ultimately, I had to make the right rugby decision for me, first of all. I had the offer to stay at Quins or to move to Ulster, and I had a few other things on the table as well.

“So, my parents, to be fair, were very good at keeping their personal opinions to the side and allowing me to make the best rugby decision for me.

“Ultimately, I think Ulster was the best rugby decision, and hopefully, it’s proving to be that way. But once I had made the decision, she was obviously delighted.”

So was Andy Farrell.

The Ireland head coach called Benson into training in July, before he had even linked up with Ulster.

The versatile back hadn’t seen that coming.

“Obviously, it was a bit of a shock to be called in here before I’d even set foot in Ulster, but it was a great feeling,” says Benson.

“Certainly, up until this point, I’ve just focused on trying to work as hard as I can and put my best foot forward, whether that’s here or back at the club in Ulster. It’s been a hectic few months for me, but I’m really enjoying it.”

Benson has impressed for Ulster. Giuseppe Fama / INPHO Giuseppe Fama / INPHO / INPHO

With his mum being a Belfast woman, Benson grew up with a genuine connection to Ireland but he initially aimed to make the grade with England.

“The first thing to say is I’m very proud of my Irish heritage,” says Benson, who started playing rugby with Richmond in London.

“I spent a lot of time across here in the school holidays. As I mentioned before, I’ve got a lot of family in Belfast, and we used to spend a lot of time on the West Coast every summer.

“Growing up, stomping around the house as a toddler, I was always in an Ireland jersey, so it’s always been something that’s been present.

“But equally, the journey I was on growing up in southwest London, playing for Harlequins, I obviously did England age group stuff. I’d be lying if I said that that wasn’t the goal when I was there, to be on that journey and striving to achieve the most I can in that scenario.

“But in life you don’t get to choose your opportunities, and so once this Ulster opportunity came up, the switch from England to Ireland wasn’t really a hurdle for me.

“As I mentioned, I’m so proud of my Irish family and my Irish heritage that I’d be very proud to wear the Irish jersey if I’ve got the opportunity to.” 

Benson has made a strong start to life with Ulster, impressing in his first five appearances, two of which have been at inside centre, two at outside centre and one at out-half.

He was named as one of the three out-half options in Farrell’s Ireland squad, and number 10 is the position in which Benson broke through with the England U20s and into the Harlequins set-up. Out-half remains his favourite position.

“Don’t get me wrong, playing in other positions, there’s plenty to enjoy,” he says.

“I like the contact element of the game. So playing in the centres, obviously, there’s a lot more exposure to that. Equally, playing at 15 and slightly wider, I love running with the ball and having space in front of me.

“So playing in different positions definitely lends itself to different skills. But as you say, I played 10 growing up my whole life. That’s where you get the most touches, most influence.

“So I think that’s where I’m best positioned to be able to help the team.”

Benson at Ireland training this week. Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

It remains to be seen if Benson wrestles Ulster’s number 10 jersey from Jack Murphy this season, but he will be busy in Ireland camp in the coming weeks as he hopes for a debut in one of the games against Argentina, Fiji and South Africa.

Benson is unique in the Ireland squad for the fact that he is a qualified neuroscientist who has had his work on the effects of rugby training exposure on knee-jerk reflex magnitude published in a medical journal.

Both of his parents are doctors, so education has also been a huge part of his life alongside rugby.

Benson essentially put his rugby career in a holding pattern to study for his Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences, specialising in Neuroscience, at the prestigious University of Cambridge before finally going full-time with Harlequins in 2024.

“It was tricky enough,” says Benson of the time balancing rugby and study.

“It feels like a lifetime ago now, but yeah, as I’m sure you know, it’s a pretty tricky place to go and study, especially a Natural Sciences degree, which was the course title in my first year.

“Yeah, everything was pretty hectic, especially going away, playing [England] U20s and stuff, travelling around Europe in that Six Nations period. I’ve got vivid memories of trying to scramble to finish essays at three, four in the morning the night before I was playing in some of those U20 Six Nations games.

“In hindsight, it’s something I’m very proud of achieving because the motivation I had to continue to do that and continue to get my studies done while also pursuing this this career path is something that I’m sure, even myself, looking back, I kind of struggled to see how I was able to do that.

“But at the time, I just kept my head down. Both things were really important to me, so I kept doing both as much as I could, and hopefully, it’s put me in a good spot.” 

Now fully focused on his sport, Benson is quickly getting ahead in Irish rugby.